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Chapter Thirty-Three

Vivian

I hear the buzz of their voices in the background but my mind is numb from the pain of loss. I know Tate is holding me but I can’t feel it, I can’t even feel the throbbing pain in my leg. Everything is redundant right now, all the plotting, planning and lies I have told over the past twelve months has been for nothing. I still lost someone I cared deeply for. Tate begins shaking me trying to garner my attention, the buzzing of their voices becomes clear.

“By the power vested in me by the Haven Saints, I sentence you, Vivian Tempest, to death by fire.” Thomas’s declaration should inspire fear of some kind but I can’t find it within myself to feel anything.

“Vivian, snap the fuck out of it,” Tatum hisses in my ear as the crowd of gathered men cheer and pump their fists in the air like this is some rally. “Don’t let his death be in vain, you owe him that.” Her words strike a chord inside me, the numbness slowly starts to bleed way to a burning sensation that has me gasping for air. The feeling is so strong it almost consumes me with the need to suffocate the life out of Thomas and watch as his soul leaves his body so it can burn in fucking hell.

“You thought you were better than us, you dumb cunt?—”

A humorless laugh escapes me, forcing Thomas to snap his mouth closed. “A dumb cunt? Is that what you think I am?” I taunt.

“I don’t think , I know it’s the truth,” he grits out.

“Hmmm.” I hum then purse my lips and tilt my head side to side. “I must have done pretty well for a dumb cunt since I bankrupted your pathetic little society.” Thomas’s face isn’t the only one that falls. Murmurs begin to break out around us.

“You’re lying, the build for the school is funded by The brotherhood,” Ford says with false bravado.

“Yes, but the land surrounding the school isn’t owned by The Brotherhood now, is it?” I fire back. The bastard stands there, clenching his fists at his sides.

“She’s lying, I would know if the money was missing,” Gavin, the Saints accountant, says with a smugness I can’t wait to destroy when I drop the bomb.

“Are you willing to bet your life on that, Gavy boy?” I sass back, earning a scowl from him.

“Enough!” Thomas roars, silencing the room but I can see from the way Leo is staring at me with judgment that he knows I’m not bluffing. “The bitch is a skilled liar like her sorry excuse of a brother. Get her ass up now, I want this over with,” Thomas orders. Three men attempt to come toward me but Leo’s words have them halting.

“She’s not lying.” Everyone turns to him but he keeps his seedy gaze on me. Leo is going to be one of the first I kill.

“How do you know that?” Thomas barks.

“Because she was the smartest in all our classes. She may be a foolish bitch but she’s a clever slut and I know this little bitch would have had a backup plan.” Just to be more of a vindictive bitch, I clap my hands slowly drawing it out just to fuck with them.

“Look who is finally keeping up with the rest of the class,” I taunt. Leo being the fucking cockroach that he is, steps forward and kicks my broken leg, forcing a sharp cry of pain from me. I snap my mouth closed and breathe through the pain, I just need to keep them talking long enough for the cavalry to arrive. I hope I’m not misunderstanding what David meant. I have no idea how he managed to pull off the last part of my plan before being taken, but nothing surprised me with him, he was a magician when it came to getting things done.

“You either start explaining or we start breaking more bones, you conniving little cunt.”

“You think calling me a cunt is an insult but in truth, Thomas, cunts are useful things to have, so it's really a compliment if you ask me.” At my mocking reply he turns a shade of red. He’s getting pissed off because I’m making a mockery of him in front of all his spineless brothers that think the sun rises out of his flat ass.

“You may think you are steps ahead but you and I both know that I have the power to take down your disloyal brother and his band of misfits. I have all the evidence I need to end them and their mask-wearing cowardly ways. Unlike the four of them, I don’t need to hide my face, a true leader leads from the front.”

“A true leader would know when his ship is sinking as well,” I toss back at him.

“My ship is fine,” Thomas snarls.

“No, you’re on the Titanic and it's about to hit the iceberg and you can’t even see it happening.” It fills me with great joy to see the doubt in his eyes. “You can kill me but The Brotherhood will never survive the aftermath of my death. I knew these fuckers weren’t loyal, so I made sure to have a contingency plan in place especially with the Night Of The Saints fastly approaching.”

Thomas cuts a glance to Ford who looks ruffled, he can try to hide it as best as he can but I see through the facade. I run my gaze over all of them, each one of them looks uncertain and when you have your back up against the wall with no other allies, all you need to do is build doubt in their minds and they will turn against their leader. The greed each of these selfish assholes possess is sickening, they would sell their soul to the devil if it meant they could remain rich and untouchable.

“She’s bluffing. The Saints have covered the cost for the expansion, she has no money.” Ford is trying hard to believe the bullshit he is spewing out of his mouth but it’s obvious to all that he is grasping at straws.

“Fuck this, take her now!” Thomas roars. Fear erupts inside me as Leo and Vaughn step toward me. Tate’s hold on me tightens but I know it's futile, she doesn’t have the strength to fight these fuckers and nor do I. I thought I could hold them off until help arrived. Leo sneers down at me as he extends his arms to grab me, but the lights cut out. I know we are in a crematorium and given everything that has happened and about to happen its only now that it registers to me that we are in a place of the dead and it could be fucking haunted!

“Fan out, find the circuit breaker,” I hear someone shout.

“Fix this!” Thomas bellows. Chaos breaks out as everyone begins shouting, they all reach for their phones to try to light the area but it's not enough. I feel Tate yanked backward and I grunt in effort to remain upright.

“Get the fuck off me!” she snaps.

“Shut the hell up, it’s me.” I freeze at the sound of his voice. “Let go now, I need to get you out of here, he’ll kill you after he finishes with her,” Nexus whisper shouts loud enough for only us to hear.

“I can’t leave her,” Tate argues. If I survive the night I know I will probably regret my decision but for right now, I won’t because I can’t have her death on my hands. Giving into this means letting this rapist go free for a second time.

“I can’t carry her, I can only get one of you out,” Nexus argues.

“He’s right,” I hiss. “Go, Tate.” I push.

“Vivian, I won’t leave you to die,” she claps back.

“It’s better me than you.” I twist and force her arms to release me, I can make out their silhouettes but that's it. “Take her and keep her safe.” I can feel Nexus’s gaze on me and it makes my skin crawl but I swallow down my hatred for him. Him being here and going against his father to save her shows me that heartless bastard actually does care about someone aside from himself, which I never thought was possible.

“I’m sorry,” Nexus bites out, then I feel Tate’s heat vanish from behind me. I sigh in defeat. I’m happy she will be safe and live to fight another day but a part of me is envious my rescue party isn’t here.

“Ahhhh,” someone cries out followed by another painful shout. All the phone lights turn toward the front of the room, where the noise came from. The sound of the men pounding on the glass in the viewing area sounds out. Everyone swivels to face the glass but we can’t see anything.

When another round of screams rents the air, everyone grows still, my heart beats faster as equal parts hope and fear swirl inside me.

Did they reach me in time?

When the lights flicker on, I slam my eyes closed to stop the burn from the sudden assault of brightness. I quickly blink them open and gasp at the sight surrounding me.

They came!

My guys stand in front of me, forming a shield. The three of them wear their masks and have both Ford and Leo on their knees in front of them. Hayze and Archer have their guns pressed against the backs of their heads. I twist to look behind me, surprised to see Alex and a couple more guys who I assume are his men.

“Where you will rest for eternal life no favor will be asked. Your stone will have no markings. A favor was asked by one and it has now been granted. The debt to be collected is your life. A favor asked is a debt owed,” Ez says. He doesn’t use his voice distorter, there isn’t a need as they would all know their cover has been blown now. I asked the favor to help me take down the Saints and they are here to grant it. Tears well in my eyes at their presence, they didn’t leave me. They came for me because they love me and that notion has the tears spilling down my cheeks.

“You fucking fools, you can kill them but we will slaughter all of you before you get a chance to fire a second round,” Thomas says with a cocky lilt to his voice. I can see him through the gap between Archer and Ez and he looks pleased at the sight of them which worries me. “I knew you would come to save your whore—” Hayze lifts his gun from the back of Ford’s head to point at Thomas.

“Call her that again, I dare you.” The venom that drips from his tone has me growing warm. Hayze broody and angry is a fucking sight to see.

“Welcome to your final night,” Thomas says with a wicked smile. The men surrounding him don’t seem to relax like their leader. When Alex circles around me to come stand beside Archer Thomas’s eyes widen at the sight of the imposing man. “ You ,” he breathes out.

“You seem surprised to see me, Thomas,” Alex says in a calm tone.

“You’re supposed to be locked up,” Thomas splutters.

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Alex growls. “You see, the problem with severing heads and sending them to the lordess without claiming the kill had her thinking The Butcher had come after her.” Thomas cuts his gaze to me, I smile. “You and your men have two minutes to surrender and drop to your knees or we put bullets in each of your heads.” Before Thomas can utter another word, Ez pulls his gun in one swift move and shoots Leo in the side of the head. I scream in fright. Archer pulls the trigger and shoots Ford in the back of the head pulling another scream from me. Everyone begins shouting and shifting around the room but freeze when Alex steps forward toward Thomas.

“Don’t kill him!” I blurt out. My three guys turn and stare down at me. I look at each of them imploring them with my eyes to trust me. I think they will agree to my terms but the second Archer’s gaze travels down my body and he sees my leg everything changes. He whirls around and goes to charge Thomas but Alex intercepts him.

“Get the fuck off me,” Arch roars.

“You can’t!” Alex shouts back.

“He fucking hurt my girl and he’ll fucking pay for that shit.” Archer fights harder against Alex’s hold. I turn to Ex and Hayze.

“Please, I need Thomas alive or all of this is for nothing. I am begging you, please, trust me.” Both of them look at me for a long moment before turning to each other. I hold my breath, praying they listen to me. When they both dart forward to pull Archer back and subdue him I finally exhale. But then the sound of sirens in the distance has the tension in the room ramping up.

“You have one minute! On your knees and live, or we take you all out. Decide now!” Alex roars so loud I flinch at the raw hatred in his tone. When he’s spoken to me he’s always been calm and soft but this is the side of him people fear and I can finally see why.

“We have to get out of here,” Ezekiel grits out. Archer seems to finally calm down at the sight of a lot of the men around dropping to their knees. Drew drops to his knees beside Thomas, earning a glare from the former lord, but his eyes are fixed on the lifeless body of his partner.

“You fucking fools!” Thomas shouts. “We outnumber them.”

“No, you don’t. Your men in the little room are locked inside, I have the entire building surrounded. You will not make it out of here a free man.” Alex continues barking orders as my guys all kneel down around me. I reach out and touch each of them feeling overcome by my emotions.

“I love you,” I blurt out, making all three of them still in surprise. “I’m so sorry I pushed you all away and I swear I won’t do it again. I love you guys so fucking much,” I choke out as a lump forms in my throat. Hayze cups my cheek and I melt into his touch.

“We love you too, Vivi baby.” His words have my chest constricting.

“We need to get you out of here so we can yell at you,” Ez says as he reaches forward to lift me but I jerk back.

“Vivian, now isn’t the time we need to get out of here, the cops are almost?—”

“I know,” I say, cutting Archer off.

“Then shut up so we can get out of here,” Ez snarls in warning.

“She can’t leave,” Alex says. All three of them turn their heads and stare up at him. I spot Thomas still standing and it grates on my nerves. He should be kneeling and pleading for his worthless life.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Archer fires back.

Alex flicks his gaze to me and nods encouragingly. I take a deep breath, knowing my time is nearly up and touch each of them, drawing their confused stares back to me. I force a smile to my face to try and ease some of their uncertainty but I can see they aren’t buying it.

“You have to go and leave me behind,” I say quietly.

All three of them just stare at me like I’m a strange being they have just discovered. “No, you just said you won’t push us away anymore?—”

I grab Hayze’s hand silencing him. “And I meant it, but this is the final piece of the plan.” The sound of the sirens grows closer. “To end the Saints for good I made a deal?—”

“What fucking deal?” Ezekiel shouts, I can hear the hint of fear in his voice and that shit kills me.

“I want to explain everything but I can’t. There isn’t enough time but I need you three to trust me, I know what I’m doing. Please, I am begging you to leave now.”

“No.”

“We aren’t leaving you.”

“You made a deal with the feds,” the three of them fire off at the same time.

“Go, or else everything she has done is for nothing,” Alex snaps.

“Please,” I say as I reach for Ez and Archer clutching their arms and imploring them with my eyes. “I need you to go.”

“Vivian, no I am not leaving you,” Archer snaps.

I flick my gaze to Alex. “Please.” He sighs then nods to his men who all rush forward and grab my guys. The three of them fight against the four guys who are pulling them away. Hayze manages to elbow the guy dragging him backward and gets free for a second until the guy tases him. “Don’t hurt them!” I scream as Hayze begins convulsing on the ground. I sob at the sight of him jerking on the ground in front of me.

“Vivian, I’ll kill them all for this!” Archer roars.

“Don’t fucking do this,” Ezekiel begs as they are dragged from the room. Hayze is lifted and tossed over the guy's shoulder like he weighs nothing and the sight of him passed out has me crying harder. Just as the guys slip out the door Thomas tries to make a run for it but Alex moves swiftly like a panther, and fires a single shot that pierces Thomas’s leg. He screams out in pain as he drops to the ground. Alex turns back to me and holds his gun out to me.

“Take it, they’ll all try to run as soon as I walk out the door. I’ll leave some guys here to watch the exits to make sure none of them escape.” I gingerly reach out and take the gun from him but Alex doesn’t stop there. He moves behind me and grabs me under my arms then drags me across the room and leans me against the wall so I have all the members of the Haven Saints in my sights. “Any of them move, shoot for the chest. It’s the biggest target.”

I meet his gaze and nod. “Thank you, Alex.”

He exhales tiredly. “I upheld my end now, now make sure you call off the dogs.”

“You have my word.”

He searches my gaze for another second. “Stay alive, Vivian Tempest,” he whispers.

“Same to you, Alexander Denver.” It surprises me how much I mean that.

“I’m always a phone call away,” he says, then turns and runs out of the room. The second that door clicks shut behind him, the tension and the atmosphere switches.

“Get her!” Thomas roars. I suck in a ragged breath and lift the gun in front of me waiting for one of them to make a move. “Get the fuck up and kill her or we are all going down.” It should come as no surprise that Drew is the first to stand, the sirens are deafening now which means they have to be here. When three others follow Drew’s lead, I dart my gun between the four of them. Drew sneers as he takes a step forward, I close my eyes and squeeze the trigger without a second thought. The shot rings out just as we begin to hear shouts. I open my eyes and gasp, Drew stands there with wide eyes, he looks shocked as he reaches up and places a hand over his stomach where blood is soaking through his shirt. He looks down at his wound, then back to me with surprise as he drops to his knees just as the door is kicked open. Men in black clothing with rifles, helmets and masks that cover half their faces barge into the room. One of the men spots me and turn their rifle to me.

“Drop the fucking gun now!” he yells. Another three guys point their guns at me. I raise my free hand and slowly lower the gun to my side and raise both hands. “Push it away, now!” I do as he says and the instant the gun is away from me, he rushes forward and drags me forward. I scream out in pain when he forces me onto my stomach and yanks my arms behind my back, tears of agony rolling down my cheeks just as bile rushes up my throat from the pain of my leg making itself known again.

The pain becomes too much and when I see black dots dancing in the corner of my eyes, I welcome them and allow the darkness to consume me.